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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Birthday Makings

*I had to snap these shots late in the day when the sun didn't come out so please forgive the photos*

Birthday sweaterYou may have figured it out by now but I made K a mini shalom cardigan like mine. She was really excited that we have the same sweater, even if it's with different yarn. I hit quite a few snags modifying this adult vest pattern into a child sized cardigan but I think I pulled it off ok. I have detailed notes on all the modifications here. After all of my debating and fussing over that yarn - she loves it. The colorway actually looks quite autumny to me, now that I am seeing it all knit up. She has literally worn it every single day since her birthday. That just makes my heart melt.

K babyThis was my first attempt at a larger waldorf doll. Every time I make a waldorf doll I think to myself NOW I understand why they are so expensive! You are probably thinking, this doll looks awfully familiar... yes, I know. It is a remake of her original beloved K baby she got on her first birthday. How can I make a long story short? Well, let's just say there was an incident involving the girls' special baby dolls and a certain rascal puppy of ours. Voices were raised, tears were shed, limbs were torn... it wasn't pretty. Anyways, I had to completely make a new K baby from scratch (I will have to do the same for C baby, too). I told K that her baby was going away to the spa for a week and that night night baby (who was put away in our simplifying effort) was sent to keep her company in the meantime. In reality I was getting rid of her mangled K baby and just making her a new one. That was no small task, let me tell you! Her original K baby was made by Joy's Waldorf Dolls so it was a lot to 'live up to'. It took me about a week to make her. She's not exactly the same as her original K baby but close enough to pass K's inspection of her. I held my breath when she was looking her over the morning of her birthday.

K baby papoose. The pattern is from Growing Up Sew Liberated. I knew as soon as I received the book that I would be making these for my girls. You see, for as long as I can remember K has had a love of babies in papooses. Her love of them has been passed on to C, as well. C calls them papoosas, and both her and K are always asking us to wrap them up and carry them around like papoosas. It's oh so sweet! We have a couple of woodenfigures of Mamas with their papooses that the girls obsess over, but the idea of a papoose of their very own to carry their special baby dolls in - OH MY! I secretly love the idea of the doll being pretty covered in it, too, so that it will hopefully stay clean easier.

The pattern was easy to follow. I had lots of fun picking out the fabric for it. I ended up using some Rapunzel fabric I had in my stash (a dress for K is in the works out of the rest of it). The light pink of that fabric paired with the burgundy of the corduroy reminds me of babushka dolls. I plan on working on C's very soon.

Birthday dressAs soon as K saw C's bubble dress this summer, she wanted one of her one. That made choosing her birthday dress pattern nice and easy. The only thing is that I made K's birthday dress last month when it was still hot outside. Making a summer dress for hot weather seemed like a good idea at the time... Last September was really hot, as was the September before that but as luck would have it - this September was not hot at all. She really likes her bubble dress and has been wearing it with layers underneath but it doesn't quite work as well that way. The fabric is a soft, airy and buttery smooth cotton really meant to keep you cool on those hot sticky days. Oh well.

I thought shell buttons were very fitting for her sea themed dress.

The pattern only goes up to a size 5 but K is a tall skinny girl, so the width of the pattern was just fine but the length was a whole 'nother story. Remember how I made C's with the length of a size 5, yet it was still a bit short on her? Well, I went ahead and added 3" of length to the size 5 for K. I was nervous my modification to the pattern would mess with the bubble effect of the hem but it all worked out. As you can see it is a bit short, though. It's hard sewing surprise garments as you can't try them on in the process of making them. She is pleased with it either way.

Phew! Birthday making is over...until February, that is. Now on to Harvest Festival and Martinmas creations.

Welcome Friends

Thank you for joining me here. My name is Nicole Spring AKA wife, Waldorf homeschooling Mama to four sweet little ones, homemaker of the radical kind, knitter, cook, seamstress, student of life as well as my children, crafter, girl of all trades... and always with a camera in hand to document our days so we may look back at these glorious yet exhausting times.

I enjoy hearing from you and would love it so much if you wouldn't mind taking the time to leave a comment. They mean so much to me (honestly, they make my day!). I appreciate not only seeing all that you have to say but also being blessed to get to know you better. If you ask a question please check back here for my response. I try my hardest to respond quickly. Thank you so much!!

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“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility-these three forces are the very nerve of education." – Rudolf Steiner